4th of July Word of Encouragement from the Lord...

The Lord put on my heart to share something with you today.  Listen, I know it gets discouraging when we look at the storms around us.  Politically, this world is a mess.  Don't get too upset with the politicians.  They can't fix all the problems of this world, and they're trying their hardest to do their best, according to what they think is right.  It's not up to the politicians to save this world spiritually.  It's up to the church.  Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Something we all have in common is our sin.  That is at the core root of all of this world's problems.  Think about it; if you break it down, pride, selfishness, greed, unthankfulness, lust, prejudice - these are the roots of so many issues, and I've only named a few sins!  Jesus breaks it down even more in 1 John 2:16: 

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

Please do not be discouarged by those who are rebelling against God. Teach.  Educate this world about Jesus, because to be honest, so many do not know Him.  Some don't even know who He is, and those who know who He is don't KNOW Him.  He's life. He's truth.  He's the way to peace and forgiveness. He's love. He's the bread of life.  He's the living water.  He's our loving Shepherd and our loving Heavenly Father. And yes, He's a consuming fire.  Fear Him with reverence and awe, and show Him you love Him by using your talents in service, pouring your heart out in adoration and words of praise, giving your time, talent and treasure to Him, spending time with Him, just like we like from someone we love (see the book The Five Love Languages). 

Folks, it's not over yet.  Don't give up on America.  Our hope as Christians has never been in Washington DC.  It's always been in Jesus Christ.  He is still on the throne! As we close in on the 4th of July celebrations, let's be people that our Lord Jesus Christ can count on to STAND in the gap, to NOT REBEL against Him, but to LIVE our lives the way God meant us to live them.  Praise the Lord, we CAN!  He will empower us.  I was thinking this morning about the fact that I do feel fear and discouragement more times than I'd like to admit, but you know what I realize?  It's not my strength that I need!  All I need of my own strength is to let go and submit to God.  Keep my focus on the Lord, and let Him use me as a vessel of honor for Him.  I'm not perfect, and thankfully He knows that!  He knows my lackings, but He made me who I am, and when I think, "Will He use me?"  The answer is inevitably "Yes", if I'm willing!  I don't want to get in His way, I want to be someone who will help.  

Think about when you are in charge of a project.  You want people who aren't trying to show off or rebel, but people who are willing to use what they can contribute for the good of the project.  Well, if saving the world is Jesus' project, then let's do the same.  

"Show me, Lord, what you will have me to do.  I'm your girl [or boy, depending on who you are!]; please use me for your honor and glory.  Provide the time and the financial resources, and I will use my talent. Please stengthen my talents and abilities so I can do an even better job for you.  I know I can't do this in my own strength, so I will rely on you and your power.  Together we will be unstoppable, not because I am great, but because you are.  I am in agreement with your burden for this world, and I want to make a difference here, now, right where I am.  I commit my life to you to use me as you desire, for your purpose, and for your glory, not mine.  I love you, Lord.  To whom much is given, much is required, and I thank you for those people in my life who have invested in me spiritually.  The right thing to do is to give back, just as those trained in the medical profession, for example, are expected to give back to other healthcare providers and train them because they were kindly trained.  So it is the right thing for me to train others spiritually.  But Lord, I'm not doing this out of obligation, although I do have a responsibility to do so.  I am motivated by my sincere love for you, for the Saviour who loved me first, who gave Himself for me.  You took the first step.  You promised to come.  Better yet, you actually came!  Thanks so much for actually coming.  So many people let us down, but you didn't, and for that I am so thankful.  Thank you that you want to use me.  If you are scanning the earth to find someone whom you can count on to stand in the gap for you, please choose me as one you can count on.  I love you, and I don't want to let you down. You're my friend. I want you to be able to count on me to rely on you, and together we can do great and mighty things.  Thank you for using me.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

These are the words the Lord gave me for a song to sing on Patriotic Sunday.  This song will be included in my next album, "Sold Out! for God, Family & Country."  I hope this will be an encouragement to you.

A Country Without a Man

By Dawn Foss

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

(from: “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel A. Ward, Public Domain)

I imagine it must be awful to be a “man without a country”,

Without a place that I can call my home.

But what about a country that doesn’t have a man

Who’ll live under a righteous, moral code?

The Bible states that righteousness exalteth a nation,

So what happens if evil works abound?

That country will be fallen, dead from the inside out,

It’s glory days no longer to be found.

“In God We Trust” is on our cash, reminds us that our wealth

Comes from blessings from our God above.

We pay our taxes due our land, but don’t forget to give

What’s God’s, let’s do it with a heart of love.

Our nation’s pledge says “under God” to recognize that we

Humbly acknowledge His power, care, and grace.

Families teach their children to love Almighty God,

And put God rightly in His proper place.

Chorus:

There is hope for our country, it’s not over yet,

Let’s live as God desires us to be.

Let’s raise up the flag and our Biblical truths,

That made us the brave and the free!

Even if others rebel against God,

We can each take a bold, mighty stand,

Determined that America will never be

A country without a man!

Bridge:

Each man and woman, each boy and girl,

Can stand, patriotic and true

To those principles and values that made us so great,

Three cheers for the red, white and blue!

Repeat chorus

Proverbs 14:34: "Righteousness exalteth a 

nation: but sin is a reproach to any people."

God bless America!

Part 3 of Short Story: The Story of Maddie

We left off with the veil mishap.  Maddie was on her way to marrying William, but she was having a veil fiasco.  She was hoping her dad would save the day, but she didn't even know exactly what the damage was.   How many layers did the veil even have?  Three?  She thought maybe there were two layers over her face, but certainly there had to have been a layer or two in the back as well.  It wasn't until later when she saw the pictures that she realized there were only two layers to her veil, and BOTH were brought over to the front, so that her hair was showing in the back!  Awful!

Well, the moment came when her dad announced that he and Maddie's mom were giving her away.  He lifted her veil and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, and then....he dropped it back down over her face!  No!!!!!!!  How could they be smooth about this and fix her veil?  She looked at her matron of honor to fix it, but it wasn't a quick fix that she could do without making a disruption in the service.  She looked at her pastor, and had to look around the part of the veil that was folded up and opaque.  Then she looked at William, and the same thing - she was looking at him through an opaque veil.  She focused on the beauty of the moment and had the fight the distraction of the veil.  Finally William saved the day when they got to the end and the pastor said, "You may kiss the bride."  He lifted the veil and her matron of honor was able to pull it all the way back and fix it nicely behind her.

They walked down the aisle hand in hand as man and woman as they smiled at their guests.  They came down with their wedding party, and shook hands with their guests as they left.  The guests made their way to the church gym where the reception would take place.  Report came that the caterer was late. But they did eventually arrive, and brought delicious food.  They came and were announced to their guests as husband and wife for the first time in public. Once they got settled in, they went to have their pictures taken.  They were driving about 5-10 min. away to a lovely place near a pond.  It was hot and humid, but at least sunny out.

They got to the spot for their pictures and started taking many combinations of pictures with family and the wedding party.  When it was time for Maddie's family to gather together for a picture, Maddie looked around and noticed someone very important was missing: Maddie's mom!  Her uncle volunteered to go back to the church gym and pick up her mom.  They got all their pictures at last, and then returned to the reception.

The servers started feeding the guests, as the food was hot and they took a long time coming back.  That was fine with Maddie and William, and was glad the guests were able to eat.  The wedding party ate, and then finished the festivities with cutting the cake and throwing the bouquet, etc.  Maddie fed the piece of cake nicely to William, but when it came time to feeding a piece of cake to Maddie, William was not so nice.  Maddie had cake all over her face, and even up her nose!

Maddie and William took off for their honeymoon to live happily ever after!  They stayed at a romantic hotel, and went to the Poconos the next day.  They stayed there for a few days.  There were comedians, archer lessons, paddle boating, and best of all...ping pong!  Guess who went home with a plastic trophy for ping pong champions?  Yes, Maddie and William!

They did have a couple problems on their honeymoon.  First problem was that there were ants in their room.  They ended up having to switch to a different room.  The second problem was they overestimated how much bubble bath to put into the bathtub.  There were bubbles everywhere!  They tried and tried to get the bubbles to pop or go down the drain.  They were afraid they were going to get in trouble!  Would they stay and get rid of every bubble, or leave and hope the maid takes care of it and doesn't hate them for it? Stay tuned!

Part 2 of Short Story: The Story of Maddie

In Part 1 of our story, Maddie was left with a decision.  Would she continue on her path as an interior decorator, or leave the university and go back home to community college to be a secretary?  This would mean she would not be getting a bachelor's degree, but she would gain the benefit of living back home, being with her friends and family, and best of all...being in close contact with her serious boyfriend, who may end up being her fiance.

She soul searched.  She thought about it.  She prayed. She counseled with her parents.  She counseled with her pastor.  She counseled with her friends and advisor.  She made a decision.

She finished out the year, and went back home to be what she really wanted to be: a secretary.  It was a great college, but she loved being home.  She went to the local community college and got her executive secretarial degree, and then got married to her high school crush, William.  

It was a sweet wedding.  Special friends and family made up their wedding party, and their colors were peach and white. It was a hot and humid summer day.  The church house was full with friends and family.  Everyone was in their place.  Maddie's best friend, who was her matron of honor, spent much time fixing Maddie's hair so it looked gorgeous around her veil.  The bridesmaids, matron of honor, and Maddie were in the little library adjacent to the sanctuary where the wedding would take place.  They thought of the perfect plan, so that no one would see Maddie until it was time.  The bridesmaids would go down the aisle, and the matron of honor would come get the bride when it was her time to come.  It was now 11 am, and ready to begin.

There were two problems already.  One was that when the matron of honor came to get the bride, she had to run in a panic because it was her turn to go down the aisle, so she caused a delay in the flow!  The second problem was when Maddie hurried to the ramp that led to the front doors, she realized that her veil wasn't over her face!  She wanted the veil over her face!  Her hair was styled in such a way that the veil would not be over her face.  She was quickly trying to pull the layer over her face, but the usher and her dad were trying to get her to hurry because everyone was waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle.  Her dad, trying to be helpful grabbed the veil and the whole thing came off her head!  It got plopped back on her head, the veil was pulled over her face, and the double doors opened.  There was the room full of people and her beloved William and his groomsmen at the front of the church.  

She had her dad's arm and looked at the people and smiled.  She wondered how many layers a veil had.  She was curious why the veil was so thick.  It was hard to see through it.  She felt that something was wrong, but no worries!  Her dad was supposed to lift the veil off her when he gave her away and kissed her cheek, so all would be well.  She got to the front of the church.  She looked at her pastor.  She looked at her William.  She looked at her matron of honor.  They got to the part where her father said he and her mom were giving her away to William.  Would her dad fix the veil?  Would he lift it off her face and kiss her cheek?  Or would he leave it as is?  Stay tuned!

The Story of Maddie

Madeline Marie Jacobson, who liked to be called Maddie, arrived at Christian college one day. She came with a friend of hers who was a Junior, so she had her clique of friends already.  Maddie never visited the college before, so was very naive to the campus.  She entered a gymnasium where people were checking in, and she got all her information she needed to find her dorm and get settled in.  She had three other roommates, and she was the last one to arrive.  Space was hard to find.  She could tell the others hoped she decided not to come so they'd have more space.  Disappointment was in their eyes when she walked in.

She needed to do her laundry, and had to carry her laundry basket to an entirely different building, approximately 500 feet away.  She went to class and studied in the library.  She made a few friends, and went to a few activities.  She missed her friends and family from home.  She loved the college and the campus, but there's just no place like home...especially when your boyfriend is back home.  She walked to her post office box every day in the center of campus to find out if she received any letters.  She didn't have enough money to make a call home.  E-mail and cell phones didn't exist yet.  When she would get a letter, she would savor it!  She would find a beautiful place to sit, such as a grassy hill, and open it up and read it over and over...especially when it was from her boyfriend William!

She met a friend in chapel one day named Emily who became her best friend.  She sometimes wondered if she were for real, or if she could be an angel unawares.  This friend was such a true friend, and came at a time when she felt the loneliest. When Maddie's birthday came around, her new friend celebrated it for a whole week! She often encouraged her with verses from the Bible. When her boyfriend broke up with her by letter, her heart was broken.  Emily took her home for the weekend and they talked about it while walking through the nature trail.  Emily's family had a simple but warm and welcoming home.  Maddie could see where Emily got her charm. Her parents were very dear, and made her feel right at home.

The time had come for her to come home for the holidays.  She got a ride home, and she thought it would be very awkward to see her boyfriend...ex-boyfriend.  And it was!  But they talked, and ended up getting back together. This was a major decision.  Her boyfriend thought he wanted to "play the field", but when he saw Maddie, he realized she was the girl for him. He would take the plunge and be committed to her.  Perhaps they would even some day get married!

When Maddie went back to college after Christmas break, she dreamed of her future with William.  She would go to the mall and hang out for hours.  She especially liked the furniture store.  She would walk around it and pretend it was her home.  She would get an Orange Julius, and eat at Chick Fil-A.  She would browse at the card shop and convenience store. The pet shoppe was one of her favorite places.  Then she would wait for the shuttle to come pick her up and bring her back to campus.  It was getting darker and cooler outside. At last it came, and picked her up, along with several other students.

She decided to change her major to Interior Design, which was a change from Business Management.  She really wanted to be a secretary, but the college didn't have that as a major. She soon realized that she only wanted to take Interior Design because she was so caught up in her dreams to have her own home with her husband.  She decided taking out loans for thousands of dollars was not the best way to plan for her future when she really just wanted to be a secretary and a wife and mother.

One night she walked back to her dorm after watching a movie on campus called "An American Tail", and the song "Somewhere Out There" was resonating in her head as she gazed at the moon and the stars. As much as she missed William, she took comfort that they would be sleeping under the same moon.

She was so torn about what she should do.  What should she take as a major? Should she continue at the university, or go home and take secretarial at the local community college and get married?  Stay tuned!

New look for my Christmas Love book! Now available...

After my Christmas Love book was released in December 2013, I decided I wanted to have the cover and pictures revamped to be a little more "Christmassy", snowy, and more appealing to kids.  Tate Publishing graciously redid the pictures, and I am happy to say that the kids and teens I have shown it to have liked the revisions very much.  It is the same price, and available for purchase either through me at my book signings at discount, or through Tate Publishing.  Christmas Love is also available at many online stores and sites, including Walmart Christmas Love from Walmart and amazon.com Christmas Love at amazon.com, but I don't know if they have the new version yet.  There is a sample of the audio book that you can listen to at the amazon site.

Click on the link to go to the Tate Publishing website, and find out how you can order a copy today.  Each copy comes with a free audio book (there is a link and code on the last page), and at the end of the narration I sing my "Christmas Love" song with my keyboard arrangement that I played as my demo.  That song is in professional format on my Beauty in Pain album.

Link to Christmas Love: Christmas Love book - new look!

Link to Christmas Love professional version, lyric video (video made by my daughter Rebecca Foss):
Christmas Love lyric video

Link to Beauty in Pain album: Beauty in Pain album

I hope you will find Christmas Love to be something you will want to read with your children every year!  It goes through the whole original Christmas story from the Bible, and puts a practical application to it that will challenge you and your children to help spread the love of Christ to those around you and make this world a better place.

God bless you!

Walking in Wisdom album is completed and available!

I am pleased to announce that my second album, Walking in Wisdom: Singing the Proverbs, is complete and available at Tate Publishing to purchase.  Hard copy CD is $13.99, or you can get a digital download for $9.99.

These songs minister to the whole family.  Each song I wrote is taken from the book of Proverbs.  The insert has the lyrics, and references the verses in Proverbs that I based my lyrics on for each song.

Here is the link to Tate Publishing's website where you can hear samples of the songs and purchase a copy if you would like.

God bless you, as you walk wisely and live your life well, the way God intended you to do.

Walking in Wisdom: Singing the Proverbs album

What I have learned after 25 years of marriage

My marriage, like most marriages, is not perfect.  We as a couple are a work in progress!  We as individuals are a work in progress!  We have had our ups and our downs, but I have gained some wisdom over the years.  These are some of the main things I have learned:

1. Don’t try to change who your spouse is, but work on your responses to trials in your relationship. It rarely works to change someone’s bad habits or traits by nagging and complaining, and it’s really an unfair expectation on anyone, including yourself.
2. However, encourage your spouse lovingly to be the best they can be.  Sometimes this requires a gentle push in the right direction, and a lot of prayer.  Help your spouse realize that they matter to you, you care about them, but you also care about your health and the health of the relationship.
3. Don’t squash your spouse’s dreams and goals.  Realize that those dreams and goals can change over time.  It’s expected that your spouse will not be that same person he or she was when you first met.  Sure, certain personality traits may be there, but hopefully they are maturing and growing with time.  Celebrate this, rather than grieving for the past. Hopefully these are positive growth changes. If not, go back to #2.
4. Make sure in fulfilling your goals and dreams, which are great, that you don’t get swallowed up in them and leave your spouse in the dust.  Even good things can become a sort of “mistress”.  Balance of time and attention is key.
5. Have fun together.  Make sure you take time to play, whether it’s doing crossword puzzles, playing board games, doing a puzzle, going to the gym, telling jokes, going on a date, watching a movie, taking a walk, watching sports, going shopping, whatever makes you both happy.  If it’s hard to find something you both enjoy, take turns doing together what the other person enjoys.  Eventually you may find something you can both enjoy together.
6. Children are vitally important, but remember not to leave your spouse behind while bringing up your kids.  The children will grow up and go out on their own one day.  Make sure when that day comes that you don’t look at your spouse and say, “Who are you?”